Super Amanda and Mr. Fix-It

When Jason is gone, I like to think that I'm Super Amanda and that I can do what needs to be done and take care of things when they break down. But when Jason came home, he turned into Mr. Fix-It.

Vacuum, truck, computer. It seemed like everything was going downhill. The vacuum smelled like it was burning when I used it, so I quit vacuuming. The truck was having problems not dying, and I was tired of coordinating rides to and from the shop and trying to keep an extra vehicle running in town. And my poor computer...I don't know what was wrong with it, except it kept giving me error messages on a blue screen.

Then, Jason swooped in. He replaced the belt in the vacuum. He helped take the truck in to the shop to get it fixed, and we bought me a new computer because mine was on its last leg.

Sometimes I forget how handy he is to have around the house - my Mr. Fix-It.

I hate airports

I hate airports. I really do. Fifty percent of the time you're there it's sad. Someone leaving, going far, far away. And that 50 percent that's happy never seems to quite make up for the sad.

We arrived at the airport early, checked Jason's bag and figured out the location of his departure gate. And then the waiting began, the awkward waiting where you want to savor every moment you still have together, but you're in a big impersonal airport with this feeling of impending doom. He's leaving again.

That's the worst part of the deployment, the leaving. Jason left for training at Ft. Wood. He left for training at Camp Atterbury. I left him at Atterbury before he got sent to Germany. Three times gone and now he's leaving again.

We bought a magazine and grabbed some desserts from a bar in the terminal. I did my best not to cry, not that it did any good. Every time it gets a little harder. Jason just keeps reminding me that the longest part of the deployment is behind us. And when it got close to time for him to go through security, he sent me on my way so I wouldn't be hanging around.

Thank goodness I took the next day off.

Dinner with the fam - Part 2...and other things...

No visit to Columbia would be complete with out a trip to Huhot's, especially after they were so nice to Flat Jason on Real Jason's birthday. We ate lunch there before heading to see the three-hour epic Australia, which Jason and I both enjoyed.

Later, Jason's parents, Tom and Ann, came over to the house to visit and exchange Christmas gifts. We gave Ann the teapot that we'd made recently. See how beautiful Jason's obsessiveness is?

I suggested that Jason put on his Santa hat to hand out presents and everyone insisted that if Jason had his on, I had to wear mine, too. Thanks for the gifts, Tom and Ann!

Our small party continued at G&D's Steakhouse where we feasted on...what else?....steak.

After dinner, Jason and I went downtown for the Living Windows display. I've lived in Columbia for five years and never made it to this fun event. Many of the shops in the District design holiday-themed window displays that include people doing things. My favorite was at Poppy, the art gallery. I was drawn by "Santa Baby" blaring from the open shop door. Two girl nurses were dancing and singing in a window on one side of the door and a boy playing baby Santa on the other side. All the shops on Broadway were open later and we visited several. We even stopped in to get cookies from the new Hot Box Cookies. If you haven't tried it, you should! It's a college venture by a group of friends, and it looks like they're going to be pretty successful.

When we got home from our busy day, Jason tore another link off the paper chain. Now the chain is too short to be hooked in the middle. Hooray! Another Friday down, 23 to go.

Trim-A-Tree

I feel very fortunate that Jason was able to visit at Thanksgiving and that we got to do some Christmas-y things together, including putting up the tree.

We got our tree from the MU Forestry Club like we have for the past three years. It didn't take us too long to find a tree. They still had a pretty good selection, and we had size constraints. The tree had to fit beside the TV AND fit into the antique tree stand that I stole from Mom and Dad when they got a new one. Jason took our tree to the counter, and they put it on that thing that shakes out all the loose pine needles. I love that thing! I don't know why, but it makes me laugh every time!

The nice guy helping us cut the trunk so it would fit in the stand, which is a good thing because I don't have a hacksaw, and the last time a tree wouldn't fit, Jason attacked it with a very large kitchen knife. Jason put up the tree when we got home. I was very excited to decorate, but we had to put Christmas on pause to watch "Bigger, Faster, Stronger," a movie about steriod use.

While the movie was very interesting, I was ready for Christmas when it was over. I brought all of my Christmas CDs downstairs, and we began unpacking the decorations while we listened to Bing sing the holiday classics.





My favorite part of decorating the tree is the ornaments. Every one has a memory attached to it: the baseball for the time that Jason lost the car at a Royals game, the recliner for our love/hate relationship with the old ugly chair that resides in the corner and even the jingle bell ornaments that we made together that we have to fix every year because they get smashed in storage. And we topped it all off with the angel that Grandma Mary used on her tree.

This year, we even put up a nativity scene. The stable looks pretty full. I had to look at the layout on the box to get everyone to fit right. If I were Mary, I would have been overwhelmed by the number of guests. Thank goodness they didn't really all come at the same time!

Dinner with the fam

Since we didn't do Thanksgiving with family, we decided to have dinner with each side.

We met Mom, Dad and Lauren at Chili's in Jefferson City and had a nice visit.

Chipotle virgin no more

We ate at Chipotle one evening, which was another first for Jason.

We went to the new one, the one where Flat Jason and I went and took photos with the Chipotle-worker-dude named Jason. We sent that photo in to the Chipotle gods, and they sent us some coupons for free burritos, which Real Jason and I used when we went for dinner.

When we got there, we discovered that Chipotle Jason was working that night! Unfortunately, he was busy and Real Jason didn't want to bother him for a photo.

Coincidence that Real Jason got to see Chipotle Jason? I think not!

Mud Room...where everyone knows your name...

Well, I'm not sure if the Mud Room lady (her name is Erin, I think) knows my name, but she definitely knows who I am when I come in. She's trying to get a special bowl so that Jason and I can make a bowl to match the one that we made when I visited him at Ft. Sill. And she knows that Jason is in the military and that he is deployed and was very welcoming when we came in to make some Christmas presents.

One present we made was for Jason's mom, Ann. She collects teapots, so I thought it would be nice to paint a teapot. She decorates in Americana, so Jason thought it would be nice to paint it red, white and blue stripes. It started out simply. Jason would design it and paint the lid, and I would paint the big portions on the teapot. But no painting project with Jason is ever simple. Jason likes to put a lot of love and effort into the pieces he works on...so much love that I eventually had to take the teapot away from Mr. Perfectionist so we could leave the Mud Room.

Ice skating at Crown Center

After checking out some stores on the Plaza, we went ice skating at Crown Center. Jason had never been ice skating before and was very scared that he would fall. He didn't fear the impact of his bum hitting the ice; he was afraid that someone would skate across his fingers while he was down and slice them off. I assured him that would not happen.

We got on the ice right after they resurfaced it. Jason refused to hold my hand because he didn't want me to take him down with me if I fell and quickly warmed to ice skating, leaving me to hug the wall alone. Mr. I've-Never-Been-Ice-Skating apparently grew up on rollerblades and was skating circles around me, literally, dodging tottering children and wobbly adults. My "ice legs" came slowly, and upon proving myself, Jason joined me for a few passes around the rink. By the time the great Zamboni appeared again I was ready to call it a day.

We played around on the wooden objects before we left. There were tons of people out, so we had to wait our turn like good kids, which was hard because neither one of us is incredibly patient.

Thanksgiving night on the Plaza

I tricked Jason into going down to the lighting ceremony a little early...and by "a little" I mean a whole hour, even though it only took five to 10 minutes to walk there from the hotel. It would not have been necessary to use such trickery to get Flat Jason to the ceremony; he would have gone willingly. However, the Real Jason is a much more complex character, one who does not enjoy waiting or large crowds. Bribes of money and food work best...

No, Jason was a good sport. We had a pretty good view from the far left and largely avoided being crushed by the monsterous crowd. We walked around and looked at the lights after American Idol winner David Cook and his niece flipped the switch.

Then we headed to McCormick and Schmick's for Thanksgiving dinner. Jason feasted on his beloved turkey while I enjoyed prime rib. And while it seemed quite odd not arguing with cousins about whether they should be allowed to sit at the adult table (ahem...Steve) or avoiding people spooning on the couch (shall remain nameless to avoid awkwardness at family events), it was rather nice to spend the holiday together as a couple. We are our own family.

Thanksgiving Day on the Plaza

Jason got bored of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade long before Santa appeared (I know what you're thinking, but yes, he really is American.), so we headed down to the empty (and seemingly closed) Country Club Plaza. We finally located an open coffee shop, Scooter's Coffeehouse, and grabbed some java to enhance our window-shopping experience.


Later, we caught the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Nothing better than watching 007 next to my own blond hunk!

Really thankful this Thanksgiving

It was a crazy busy day that I thought would NEVER come, but at 5:30, I picked up my real husband at the Kansas City International Airport, full of plans for a mini Thanksgiving vacation on the Plaza and spending the rest of Jason's 10-leave in CoMo.

Too bad Flat Jason doesn't get to tag along...hope he enjoys the closet...